DUI prevention law to take effect

Sunday

Jun 30, 2013 at 12:07 PMJun 30, 2013 at 12:11 PM

The Tennessee General Assembly passed many new laws that take effect on the first day of July. There are too many to list them all here, so these are a few of the ones that I wanted to bring to your attention.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed many new laws that take effect on the first day of July. There are too many to list them all here, so these are a few of the ones that I wanted to bring to your attention.

? Tennessee Asset Forfeiture Law

I sponsored a new law that passed during the 2013 legislative session revising the process for government seizure of private property in criminal cases in order to curb abuse. This legislation establishes the legal rules relating to issuance of a legal warrant, the hearing process for property seizure and the requirements of an affidavit supporting the warrant, as well as an appeals procedure. The legislation reforms the practice known as asset forfeiture which gives law enforcement officers the ability to take people’s personal property without charging them with a crime.

The state’s current civil asset forfeiture laws are written in such a manner that has allowed law enforcement officers unfairly to seize cash, cars and other property without the owner being in attendance. Abuse of the law has resulted in a practice known as “policing for profit” where police officers seize property without proof of a crime. Often, asset forfeiture cases take months to settle.

? Financial responsibility, bodily harm

The General Assembly voted to increase the penalty for violation of the state’s financial responsibility law when an offender was at fault for an accident resulting in bodily injury or death. Currently, the penalty is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $100. This bill strengthens the law by elevating the offense to a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 11 months, 29 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

? DUI interlock devices

State lawmakers have approved key legislation to curb drunk driving, requiring the use of ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. In 2011, 257 people were killed in Tennessee in alcohol-related crashes, which is about 27 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state.

Ignition interlocks are critical to eliminating drunk driving, as 50 percent to 75 percent of convicted drunk drivers will continue to drive on a suspended license. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, requiring interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers saves lives and is effective in reducing drunk driving recidivism by 67 percent.

The new law decreases, from 0.15 percent to 0.08 percent, the breath or blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that is considered an enhanced offense for purposes of issuing a restricted driver license. The bill also requires the interlock device be capable of taking a photo, to ensure that another person does not provide the sample for a convicted offender.

Interlock devices are small pieces of equipment attached to the steering wheel of a car with a tube that the driver must breathe into in order to allow the ignition to start. The newest ignition interlock technology makes it easier for courts to require DUI offenders to utilize the device by including cameras to ensure that the person tested is the correct driver.

The average first offender has been on the road 80 times drunk before their first arrest. Currently, 17 states require interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.

? Restructured drunk driving laws

In other efforts to curb drunk driving, legislation has been signed into law rewriting Tennessee’s DUI laws to make them more understandable by prosecutors, defense lawyers and citizens.

The current law consists of numerous sections dealing with DUI offenses, punishments and enhancements as well as ignition interlock requirements and fees, implied consent testing and related fees, open container requirements and drug and alcohol treatment. Many of these provisions are duplicative among several sections or overlap other requirements, making it difficult for prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and the general public to determine the consequences.

The reorganization consolidates these sections into a more organized law by placing DUI offenses, penalties, fines and suspension times at the beginning. That section is followed by implied consent and testing, restricted driver licenses, alcohol and drug treatment, distribution of fines and fees, vehicle seizures, underage offenses, open container and ignition interlock.

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Joey Hensley represents the 28th District of the Tennessee Senate.

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